Judge Dismisses Palace Brawl Suits Against Artest
December 11, 2007 - 5:14 am
ESPN -
Two civil lawsuits against Ron Artest stemming from the November 2004 brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills have been dismissed.

U.S. District Court Judge Anna Diggs Taylor on Monday dismissed the civil lawsuits against the former Indiana Pacers star.

Artest's lawyer Allan Rubin said Taylor ruled on motions filed by the defense.

"We're extremely happy. We believe the court made the right decision," Rubin said. "We believe the plaintiffs were overreaching in their claims."

William Paulson, of Grand Blanc, claimed that he suffered a concussion after Artest and former Pacer Stephen Jackson fought with fans at the close of Indiana's game with the Detroit Pistons .

In the second suit, John Ackerman of St. Clair claimed he suffered a concussion after being punched by Pacer David Harrison. Ackerman's suit blamed Artest for starting the fight.

Separate cases against the Pacers, Jackson and Harrison are pending. [READ]
http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/49654/20071211/judge_dismisses_palace_brawl_suits_against_artest/

Hicks

12-11-2007, 11:17 AM

David punches a fan and doesn't get suspended..... :laugh: I can only shake my head.

Makes me honestly believe they looked the other way so they could punish us more: One more player being suspended would have meant they'd be forced to stagger them instead of suspending them all at once.

LG33

12-11-2007, 11:22 AM

David Harrison punched somebody and they lived? Was it Floyd Mayweather?!

bellisimo

12-11-2007, 11:41 AM

David always manages to stay under the radar in terms of the brawl. When people mention the players that is left from that roster they only mention Foster, Tinsley and JO...always forget Harrison

grace

12-11-2007, 11:48 AM

Harrison never gets mentioned because Stern never punished him. Had they suspended Harrison along with everyone else the suspensions would have had to be staggered.

Anthem

12-11-2007, 11:50 AM

David always manages to stay under the radar in terms of the brawl. When people mention the players that is left from that roster they only mention Foster, Tinsley and JO...always forget Harrison
Early on, Harrison was a peacemaker. It was only after the brawl spilled onto the court that he hit the guy.

Of course, Jermaine was in the same position.

bellisimo

12-11-2007, 11:57 AM

maybe thats why he gets picked on the calls - cause they didn't suspend him...he is paying for it with all these fouls...

naptownmenace

12-11-2007, 11:58 AM

Early on, Harrison was a peacemaker. It was only after the brawl spilled onto the court that he hit the guy.

Of course, Jermaine was in the same position.

Yeah, Stern even said he saw what Harrison did but didn't suspend him for 2 reasons. The first is because he had tried to be a peacemaker earlier by getting Artest and Jackson out of the stands. Secondly, he was trying to leave the court when a chair came flying past him and a fan grabbed his arm in the vomitorium. He was provoked while trying to leave so they let it slide when he punched the fan.

Anthem

12-11-2007, 12:30 PM

vomitorium
:laugh:

Naptown_Seth

12-11-2007, 01:45 PM

:laugh:
I believe that's the official name of the arena. Of course most of us know it by the slang name "The Palace of Puke".
DEEE-TROOIIITT BARRRFFFF-KET-BAALLLLL

:devil:

I laughed when I heard these two a-clowns got shined on by the court. Made my day.

BillS

12-11-2007, 03:04 PM

I laughed when I heard these two a-clowns got shined on by the court. Made my day.

Don't get too excited - The only thing that got dismissed was their specific claims against Artest since he was supposedly at fault for starting everything.

The other claims seem to still be in place.

Essentially, the court simply isn't calling a flagrant. The free throws are still going to happen.